The North Carolina Licensing Board for General Contractors (NCLBGC) has decided to allow online education and training for all of the continuing education requirements this year in part because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and also because of lobbying by the Carolinas Associated General Contractors (CAGC).
Original legislation approved last year by lawmakers and the governor, would not have allowed for online training this year, CAGC reports in its weekly eletter.
In testimony before the NCLBGC on May 14, CAGC president and CEO Dave Simpson said it did not make good common sense not to allow online courses this year for all of the NCLBGC’s continuing education requirements, particularly with safety issues posed by the pandemic.
“One thing we have learned with this pandemic is that we in the construction industry can do a whole lot more than we ever imagined we could online,” Simpson said. “With online classes not being allowed this year with this new law, it limits options for GCs to easily obtain their continuing education credits, especially for GCs who do work in NC but live in SC and surrounding states.”
CAGC also pushed to have the new law requiring in-person training delayed a year but, in a compromise that was unavoidable because of strong support for the new law by the home builders, the association supported moving ahead with the new law provided that the Board allowed for the online training. View Dave Simpson’s written testimony.
“With the Board’s decision now allowing providers to offer online classes this year, CAGC will move forward in planning for and offering these courses early this summer,” the association reported. “Our members who are required to complete these courses will now have more options to obtain their continuing education (online and in person perhaps later in the year) and can do so in a comfortable and safe environment.”